Academic Tutoring · Ages 10+
Your child speaks English fine.
But school demands more than speaking.
Writing essays. Solving word problems. Explaining reasoning. Analyzing a text. These are the skills that separate conversational English from academic English — and they don't develop on their own.
Live 1:1 tutoring. Language Arts and Math. American curriculum. Certified teachers. $30/session.
60 minutes. No package required. See if it is the right fit first.
After age 10, the gap compounds fast.
In primary school, a bilingual child can get by. The tasks are short. The language is simple. Teachers fill in the gaps.
But from age 10 onward, school stops being about what your child knows and starts being about how clearly they can explain it. Essays get longer. Math problems get wordier. Reading assignments assume a level of inference that many bilingual students haven't been taught.
They understand the math but get word problems wrong because of the English
They can tell you what happened in a book but can't write an analysis of it
Their grades are slipping and you're not sure if it's a language problem, a learning problem, or both
The school says they're "fine" but you can see them falling behind their peers
The longer the gap goes unaddressed, the harder it is to close. By the time it shows up in grades, it has been building for years.
Homework help fixes tonight's assignment.
It doesn't fix the skill that's missing.
Most online tutoring for kids works the same way: your child brings homework, the tutor walks them through it, they submit it, and next week they bring more homework. The assignment gets done. The underlying problem stays.
If your child can't break a word problem into steps, helping them solve tonight's problem doesn't teach them how to approach tomorrow's. If they can't organize an essay, fixing this paragraph doesn't help them write the next one.
An online English tutor who only corrects mistakes isn't teaching. Teaching means finding the pattern behind the mistakes — the skill that never developed — and building it until your child can do it independently.
That is what we do. We teach the skill, not the assignment.
What happens in a session
Every session targets the skill gap — not the symptom. We teach Language Arts and Math through the same meaning-first method.
We find the pattern
In the first session, the teacher identifies what your child does well and where they break down. Not "they need help with fractions" — more like "they can compute fractions but can't read a word problem to know which operation to use." That distinction changes everything.
We teach through meaning, not memorization
Whether it is essay structure, reading comprehension, or math reasoning, we start with what your child already understands and build from there. We show them the pattern through examples first, then name it — not the other way around.
We build independence
The goal is not a tutor your child depends on forever. It is a student who understands how to approach a new problem, organize their thinking, and produce clear work — in English — without waiting for someone to help them start.
Why this works — from real students
A student in Florida
USA · Bilingual family · Gifted learner
What her parents noticed
She could categorize things perfectly — animals, shapes, story elements — but couldn't explain her reasoning step by step. The same pattern showed up in math, in writing, and in a school research project on Florida panthers. She knew the answers but couldn't break down how she got there.
What we found
Sean identified her as an inductive learner — she needed to see many examples before being given a label, not the other way around. Instead of teaching rules and asking her to apply them, we showed her patterns and let her discover the rule herself. The breakthrough showed up across subjects, not just in English. Her mom later asked Sean to teach her other children Spanish as well.
Some children don't respond to traditional teaching because they learn inductively. Meaning-first instruction works with their brain, not against it — and the results show up in every subject.
A bilingual family
Multiple children · Two languages at home
The pattern
The children spoke both languages fluently at home. But at school, their English writing was structured like their other language — ideas organized differently, reasoning implied rather than stated, conclusions built from the bottom up instead of the top down. Their teachers called it "unclear writing." It wasn't unclear — it was structured in the wrong language.
What changed
We taught them English academic structure explicitly — how English organizes ideas differently from their home language. The topic sentence comes first. The examples support it. The conclusion restates it. Once they saw the pattern, their writing changed in weeks. The English didn't improve because their vocabulary grew — it improved because they learned how English expects ideas to be arranged.
Bilingual children often write English that is structured in their other language. Fixing "grammar" doesn't help. Teaching the structural difference does.
This is for your family if
Your child speaks English well but their school performance doesn't reflect it
You need an online English tutor who also understands how language affects math
Your family has moved countries and your child needs to catch up with the American or British curriculum
Your child is gifted or twice-exceptional and standard ESL tutoring doesn't fit
You've tried homework help tutors and your child still can't do the work independently
Your teachers
Sean Kivi leads the program. MA in Translation Studies from the University of Nottingham. Texas Bilingual Educator certification. PGCE-qualified. Taught in 7 countries. Speaks Spanish at C2.
He has worked with bilingual families across the US, China, Turkey, and Latin America — including gifted and twice-exceptional students whose previous tutors focused on homework completion instead of skill development. He designed the meaning-first curriculum and teaches directly.
Before you book
This is not homework help.
If you need someone to sit with your child while they finish tonight's assignment, there are many options for that. This is not one of them.
We find the skill gap behind the struggle — the reasoning pattern, the structural habit, the step they skip every time — and we teach it until your child can do it alone.
Some students improve quickly. Others need longer. The difference usually comes down to starting level, how often they practice between sessions, and whether the gap is language-based, skill-based, or both.
But if you want a tutor who finds the real problem and builds your child's independence — not their dependence — book a trial session and see how they respond.
Simple pricing
Starter
$120
4 sessions/month
$30 per session · 60 min each
Recommended
$240
8 sessions/month
$30 per session · 60 min each
Intensive
$360
12 sessions/month
$30 per session · 60 min each
All plans include: live 1:1 sessions, Language Arts and Math, session notes for parents, WhatsApp access to your child's teacher.
Need regional pricing? Message us directly →
Common questions
What age is academic tutoring for?
Ages 10 and up. For children ages 5-10, we offer our Kids Classes program, which uses a story-based approach designed for younger learners.
Is this ESL tutoring?
It can be, but it goes further. ESL tutoring typically focuses on English as a standalone subject. We teach English through academic content — Language Arts, Math, reading comprehension, essay writing. Your child learns English and keeps up with their curriculum at the same time.
What curriculum do you follow?
American curriculum. Our teachers hold US teaching certifications (Texas Bilingual Educator) and PGCE qualifications. If your child attends an American-system school or is preparing for one, we match what they are expected to know.
Can you help with math if we need an online English tutor?
Yes. Many bilingual students struggle with math word problems — not because they can't do the math, but because the language of the problem trips them up. We teach both subjects because the language gap shows up in both.
My child speaks English fluently. Do they still need this?
Conversational fluency and academic fluency are different skills. A child who can chat with friends in English may still struggle to write a structured essay, analyze a text, or explain their reasoning in a math problem. If your child's grades don't match their spoken English, that is the gap we close.
How is this different from homework help?
Homework help fixes tonight's assignment. We fix the underlying skill gap that makes homework hard in the first place. After a few sessions, most students need less help — not more — because they understand how to approach the work independently.
Do you work with gifted or twice-exceptional students?
Yes. Several of our students are identified as gifted or 2e. We use a meaning-first approach that works with inductive learners — students who need to see patterns before being given labels. We also coordinate with families who have executive functioning support in place.
Who are the teachers?
Certified, native English-speaking teachers with formal qualifications including PGCE and US Bilingual Educator certifications. Sean Kivi (MA Translation Studies, University of Nottingham; 15+ years across 7 countries) leads the program. Visit our Teachers page to see the full team.
Can I start with one session?
Yes. Book a single session to see if it is a good fit. No package required. If it works, you can move to a monthly plan.
The gap doesn't close on its own.
One trial session. Find the real problem. See how your child responds.
Book a trial session →